


Rollercoaster of a Month

by anxious_soul



Series: Tony Stark-Centric Series [78]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Coma, Crying, Dialogue Heavy, Domestic Avengers, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family Drama, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Avengers (2012), Serious Injuries, Superfamily (Marvel), Teen Angst, The Avengers Are Good Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24180865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxious_soul/pseuds/anxious_soul
Summary: In which Peter gets in a fight with his parents, Tony and Steve, and the world around them crashes and burns when an accident hits the family.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark-Centric Series [78]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1126895
Comments: 49
Kudos: 214





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Menma1821](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menma1821/gifts).



> Who asked for: a stony fic with Peter as their child and they get into an argument about him staying out too late. He wishes they would die (of course they won't it's just to teach him a lesson). They both end up in a coma after their plane is hacked.
> 
> I more or less follow this! It's been an interesting write, I would also like to state that I don't have any medical knowledge, so I've researched what I could but some of the information may be wrong -creative license!
> 
> The timeline for this story isn't really mentioned, but it's a bit all over the place. Basically the Avengers have been together for a long time as Steve and Tony have been together for like 12 years, but they're all basically the same canon ages as 2012 -it's really not important for the plot, but I thought I'd clarify what I meant (or try to at least)! 
> 
> Personal life update: I went out for a drive today, had jobs to do, and it was a nice hour of freedom during lockdown... all was good until I got home and pulled up on the drive. I scraped the car against my dad's car -thankfully it's mostly just the paint that's been damaged and all, but let me tell you, not only is that a horrible experience, it was terrifying watching my dad's car bounce and move when I hit it. So that was all good fun; it caused a mental breakdown and I am now dead exhausted!

“Peter can you come in here for a moment; your papa and I need to talk,” Tony called when he saw his son try to bypass the kitchen that morning; Steve heard a sigh thanks to his super hearingand seconds later the teenager appeared,

“What’s up?"  


“Take a seat, kid,” Tony murmured patting to the stool next to him, “we need to talk about your nightly habits,” at his words, Peter’s face seemed to shut down and become blank in a way that his dads hadn’t known to be possible, “Peter, we wanted to do this sooner but you’re always out at ridiculous hours and come back at even more ridiculous ones.”  


“Haven’t we done this before?”  


“Yes, we had a conversation like this two months ago _when_ you started acting up; clearly it solved nothing,” Steve inserted, “look, Peter, we’re just worried.”  


“Kid, we expect a bit of teenage rebellion; but you’re out _every_ night. That’s more than just a rebellion, that’s a problem.”  


“I told you, I’ve been staying at Ned’s,"  


“Do you want to know _why_ I’ve pushed for this conversation now and not later?”  


“No,” he muttered moodily,

“Because I called Mrs Leeds to thank her for watching over you and letting you stay over,” it would’ve been funny, the way Peter’s eyes expanded, had the situation not been so serious, “and imagine my surprise when she told me that you hadn’t stayed over for a good month and a half.”  


“I -she…”  


“Nothing to say?” Tony snapped before pausing and trying to control his temper, which he succeeded at, “look Petey, your papa and I are really worried now. You’ve been lying for months, sneaking out, staying out till stupid hours of the morning and don’t deny it, I’ve seen you come home with a bloody nose and a black eye. What is going on Peter?”  


“Nothing,”  


“None of what I just said is ‘ _nothing’!_ ” Tony couldn’t help but exclaim loudly but Peter didn’t offer anything, Steve placed a calming hand on Tony’s shoulder,

“Peter, we’re just worried. You need to talk to us.”  


“Nothing is happening! Just leave me alone!” 

“Look, Peter, we’ve got a plane to catch and as much as I don’t want to leave you, your aunts and uncles are more or less making us go. We’ll be gone for twelve days and you’re grounded until we get back,” Tony held up a hand to stop Peter from talking, “I’m sorry kid but you’ve brought this on yourself. Aunt Nat and Uncles Bucky and Bruce will be looking after you and in charge, as they’re the only ones who can be trusted in this case; other than school and any decathlon meetings, you’re not allowed out without one of those three. That means no meeting up with Ned after school. You go there and you come straight home.”  


“That’s not fair! You can’t do that!”  


“Damn it, Peter, do you think I want to ground you? Because I don’t. But I can’t trust you at the minute; until you tell me what you’ve been getting up to, you’re under lockdown.”

“Papa, you can’t let him do this!” Peter exclaimed turning to Steve who had been quiet, 

“I agree with him, Pete, you’ve been acting strangely for the last few months and it’s worrying us,” Steve murmured walking over and placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder only for it to be knocked off as the boy stepped back looking furious,

“I hate you both! You’re ruining my life; why can’t you just leave me be? Or better yet, drop dead!” He shouted before storming out of the completely silent room.

**——LINE BREAK——**

“He doesn’t mean that Tony,” Steve murmured as he wrapped his frozen husband into his arms; he knew the genius was the most sensitive out of them when it came to their son, Steve wasn’t sure if it was a Howard related reason or just because that was who Tony was. Perhaps it was because Peter was Tony’s biological son and there was an actual biological and scientific explanation; that’s not to say Steve didn’t love and adore the boy as if he was his own. The blond had been in Peter’s life for twelve years, he had started dating Tony when Peter was only four and it hadn’t taken long for Peter to call Steve ‘Papa’; he also became the teenager’s adoptive father when Peter was eight and understood what it meant. 

“I’m just as bad as Howard,” Steve’s arms tightened at Tony’s muffled words,

“Don’t you say that. You are a far better man and dad than he was. Peter loves you, Tony, he’s just going through something and not opening up to us.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go; maybe we need to stay. Our trip can be rescheduled.”  


“No, you guys need to go and you deserve to go away; it’s your tenth wedding anniversary, that’s important,” Bucky stated from where he sat with the other Avengers, all of whom had been in the kitchen watching as Peter broke his parents’ hearts

“Bucky’s right; besides, you guys haven’t been away together probably since your honeymoon,” Clint pointed out from where he sat on the counter; that man could never sit in a seat like a _normal_ person.

“Don’t worry, котенок,” Natasha murmured as she took Steve’s place and hugged Tony as she laid a comforting hand on Steve too, “we’ll look after him and make sure he follows the rules.”  


“We’ll try and find out what’s happening as well,” Bruce added, “he might be more willing to open up to us instead.”  


“Everything will be fine; now get going, you’re supposed to leave in half an hour,” the redhead stated with a gentle smile as she shooed them to the elevator. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

They were packed and ready to go as they detoured to their son’s room. They knocked on the door but heard no reply, Steve went to open the door but a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned and saw Tony shaking his head.

“JARVIS… is he…”  


“Young sir is in his bedroom, Sir. He has locked his door and pushed his desk against it. I would advise against using force.” Tony sighed,

“Thank you, J.” He murmured before knocking on the door, “Petey, we’ve got to go now are you… can we say goodbye or…?” He trailed off, waiting a few moments for a reply but he got none,

“We’ll be back in twelve days, Pete,” Steve spoke up, “we love you kid,”

“Love you, Peter. See you soon.” Tony murmured before the two hesitantly walked away.

**——LINE BREAK——**

Seated and settled in Tony’s private jet, Steve sat across from his husband and reached over to hold Tony’s hand as the man stared worriedly out of the window; the genius gave it a reassuring squeeze as he smiled gratefully before returning his gaze to the window where he was staring at the tarmac. The plane had yet to take off.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go,"  


“Tony,”  


“No, what if something’s really wrong? We’ve just spent the morning shouting at him and grounding him only to leave him. That’s-"  


“Not the same as what Howard did to you,”  


“I-“ Steve cut him off again by leaning forward and covering Tony’s hands gently, 

“Sweetheart, I know the timing could have been better, but we’ll be back before you know it and then we can have a proper conversation with Peter. I know you’re worried about him,  I am too, but we’ve got Bucky, Nat and Bruce making sure he doesn’t sneak off and the more…”

“Idiotic?” Tony offered with a slightly watery grin,  


“I was going to say ‘easy-going’, but that works,” Steve chuckled, “the more easy-going bunch will be there too and I like to think they’ll keep an eye on Pete.”  


“I still worry,”  


“I know you do. You wouldn’t be the best dad if you didn’t."  


“I don’t feel like the best dad at the minute,”  


“It’ll all work out, sweetheart,” Steve murmured softly.

**——LINE BREAK——**

The world seemed to crash and burn all too quickly. As the plane began to take off and entered the climbing stage, the captain spoke up, his voice sending chills down their spines.

“Thank you for flying Air-HYDRA, we hope you enjoy your trip,” the two men looked at each other as the plane turned abruptly and the jet began to descend to the ground at an unstable and uncontrolled manner. 

Steve unbuckled his seat belt, rushing to the cockpit, stumbling as he tried to move; a sudden shake of the plane sent him flying backwards and into Tony, who was gripping his chair in an attempt to move forward like Steve had. They were seconds away from hitting the ground when Steve wrapped his arms around Tony, hoping that his body would be able to protect his smaller husband as much as possible. 

They hit the ground and fell into a dark abyss; pain hitting them for only a millisecond before their conscious faded.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter had been lazing on the couch in the communal living room; he refused to talk to the others, who had gathered around. Bucky and Natasha were having a conversation in Russian whilst the redhead painted her toes, Clint was trying to find something to watch as he flicked through the channels, Bruce was curled up in the armchair reading a book and Thor was probably trying to text Jane based on his big grin and the frantic tapping on his phone. 

_“This just in…”_ the channel changed quickly as Clint continued to search for a show but in the split second before it had gone off, Peter had seen the small image behind the newscaster and thought it was familiar,

“No go back a second,” he said and the others froze for second because it was the first word he’d said since the argument; quick to oblige, Clint went back to the news channel and everyone turned their attention to the TV.

“ _…crash, believed to have occurred during the climbing phase of take-off. No one knows what happened as emergency services rushed on scene,”_ the speaker was now a reporter as the newscaster had introduced the woman when Clint had changed the channel, _“oh people are being brought and as speculated this jet was Tony Stark’s private jet as identified by Mr Stark being brought out.”_

“Oh my god,” Clint whispered, Natasha had already vanished with Bucky rushing after her, Bruce was inspecting the scene and Thor was facing Peter, who had grown worryingly pale,

_“Mr Stark and Captain Rogers are alive but based on the rushing of the first responders, things don’t look good. Another body has been brought out under a sheet; it doesn’t look like he survived.”_

“Clint shut it off; we’re going to the hospital now,” Bucky stated turning off his phone, he was Steve’s emergency contact, “and Rhodes just called me, he’s on his way too as he’s Tony’s contact.”  


“I’ve informed Fury and called Happy, he said he’s en route.”  


“Wouldn’t it be quicker for him to just go to the hospital instead of collecting us?” Thor asked as they hurried into the elevator, Bruce nudging Peter, who was unresponsive, along as he kept an eye on Peter in case he got worse.

“No, he was already ten minutes away from us when he got word of the crash,” the redhead explained.

**——LINE BREAK——**

It was hours before they were approached by a doctor; Rhodey had arrived and was pacing alongside Bucky. The team were uncomfortable on the chairs as they waited for any news; Happy was trying to coax Peter into talking. 

“Doctor, how are they?” Bruce jumped up and asked when he saw the woman approach, 

“Can we see them?” Everyone else seemed to blurt out and she quickly put up a halting hand,  


“Captain Rogers is stable and healing nicely; he’s lucky to have the serum as that’s certainly helped him. He’s broken his left arm and right leg. He’s bruised and had to have some stitches but he should wake up within the next hour.”  


“What of Tony?” Rhodey asked worriedly, he had noted down the point about the Super Soldier serum and was concerned because Tony was a baseline human, so if Steve was alright due to the serum… how bad was Tony?

“Mr Stark… it took a while to stabilise him; his heart gave out once, but we’re keeping an eye on him. His right leg is also broken, from my understanding, something fell on both of their right legs as Captain Rogers was protecting Mr Stark. His right shoulder also got dislocated and his left wrist is broken. He also hit his head very badly; we’ve stitched it up, but it’s something we’re keeping an eye on as well.” She seemed to hesitate, “we’re worried that he might fall into a coma, but at the minute he’s just unconscious,” she murmured quietly, aware of the young teenager; Rhodey’s legs new weak and it was only Bucky’s quick reflexes that stopped him from hitting the ground. 

“Can we see them?” Clint repeated, his voice coarse, 

“I… as long as you’re quiet, you may see them,” she stated, normally she’d be against it but one look at everyone told her that they were only asking out of formality, “just… be warned, Mr Stark is surrounded by a lot of wires and machines.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

“Oh god,” Happy whispered as they crowded around the hospital room; the two beds were close to each other, Steve seemed to take up the majority of his bed, his face littered with cuts and bruises whilst his leg and arm were bulky with casts. Tony, however, looked too small as he lay unconscious with wires attached and machines chirping beside him; it was a painful sight to see. 

Peter took one look at his parents and ran; Natasha placed a hand on Bucky, who was torn between chasing after him and staying there, she shook her head and Clint took off after the teenager instead.

“I’m clearly missing something,” Rhodey stated as they all settled into he uncomfortable chairs, he was referring to how Peter had been acting; Thor was the one to explain to Rhodey and Happy what had occurred earlier that day between Peter and his parents.

“Ah,” Happy whispered, “I had noticed something was wrong; I just didn’t realise how bad it had gotten,”  


“Tones never mentioned this to me,” Rhodey said with a frown,

“He knows how you worry,” Bruce murmured with a shrug, “and you know he doesn’t like making anyone worry.” Rhodes sighed with a nod of agreement,

“Tell Clint to take him home; I’ll talk to the kid.”  


“Why you?” Natasha asked feeling slightly insulted on Clint’s behalf, which led to Rhodey sending her an unamused raised eyebrow,

“Because I’ve known the kid his whole life and I knew Tones when he was Peter’s age; those two are fairly alike so I think I know how to deal with this,” he turned to Happy, “call me if anything changes.”  


“Will do.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

The room was quiet as everyone stared at their unconscious friends; concern was written across their faces as they lost themselves in their thoughts.

A frantic beeping snapped them out of their mind and they looked up to find Tony seizing in his bed; Bucky raced out and shouted for a doctor, whilst Bruce went over and tried to help as much as he could. It didn’t take long before doctors and nurses came charging into the room.  


**——LINE BREAK——**

As his consciousness came crawling back to him, Steve found himself waking to loud beeps and people shouting. His eyes flickered open just in time to see someone being carted off on a stretcher; he recognised the messy brown hair of the person on the bed.

“-ny,” he croaked, “Tony. Tony! Wha- where you takin’ him? I won’t let -let you take him, HYDRA!” He stammered his throat try as he struggled to move, Steve managed to throw himself off the bed in an attempt to stop them from taking his husband.  A familiar metal arm came into view and stopped his struggling before gently easing him back onto the bed; once there, the room seemed to stop spinning and Steve found himself able to focus. Buck stood next to where he sat with a grim look on his face, Natasha was beside him followed by Clint and Thor. He could hear Bruce and someone who sounded like Happy talking on the other side of the room’s door.

“Stevie,” he turned to Bucky, who was waving a hand in front of his face, Steve realised that he must’ve fallen into his thoughts, “it’s okay. You’re in the hospital; you and Tony were in a plane crash,” he said gently, “HYDRA ain’t here, punk.”  


“Why would HYDRA be here, Steve?” Clint asked having returned to the hospital, 

“They were…” he frowned and found that he couldn’t quite remember, “I…”  


“Captain Rogers, I had heard that you were awake,” everyone turned and found the doctor at the door, “I came to check you over and make sure you hadn’t done any more damage to yourself,”

“Sorry, you are?”  


“Doctor Sullivan, I’ve been the doctor in charge of you and your husband,"  


“Tony, is he-“  


“Captain Rogers,” she cut him off, “I need to ask you a few questions first,” reluctantly the blond nodded, “before I entered, you seemed to be struggling to recall events; I need to know what the last thing you remember is and if you have any memory gaps.”  


“I… Tony and I, we were on his private jet,” he said slowly as he tried to think back, “we had taken off and… the pilot… he said something.”  


“Was it something related to HYDRA?” Natasha asked,

“I think so… I… I stood up and tried to get to the… to the cockpit but… but the plane… it wasn’t being controlled. We… we were heading to the ground. I… I fell on Tony. Something fell on us both… I think I was trying to protect him.”  


“According to the first responders, you were clutching him and both of you have broken your right legs; so it’s plausible that something landed on them enough to break them,” the doctor murmured,

“Tony? Can you tell me about him? Please.”

“He’s gone into cardiac arrest,” she stated bluntly with a sigh, “we missed it but from my understanding, his arc reactor was knocked ever so slightly out of place when we were resuscitating him and the problem has only just been made aware. I don’t know how, Mr Stark might’ve moved a bit in his sleep and dislodged it even more, which led him into cardiac arrest.” Steve had shot up at her words, 

“Shouldn’t you be there with him?” He exclaimed and she held a hand up,

“Captain Rogers, we may know about the arc reactor, but don’t confuse that with us understanding how it works; Mr Stark has been very secretive about the device, which is why Doctor Banner is in my place and dealing with it as he is one of three people outside of Mr Stark that understand how it works.” Doctor Sullivan explained,

“Sorry,” he murmured and her expression softened,

“I know you’re worried, but I assure you, we’re doing the best we can.” 

She left minutes later once she was able to confirm that he was healing well and hadn’t caused any damage to himself leaving the blond alone with his family, the Avengers; Happy popped his head in to say he was going to go back to the Tower.

“Wait, where’s Peter?” He asked, Happy’s comment had reminded him of his son, who was nowhere to be seen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this should've been posted a couple of hours ago; my grandma has landed herself in hospital. Not because of COVID-19, no, because she drank too much last night, slipped and cracked her head open, she came around earlier this morning and my mum went to go sort her out. She's now in the hospital with stitches and probably a concussion... *sigh* 
> 
> Anyway, woes aside, please enjoy this chapter!

“Peter,”

“Uncle Rhodey? What are you doing here?” The teenager asked looking up from where he was curled up in a ball on his bed, the older man sighed and sat down on the edge watching as Peter tried to pretend he hadn’t been crying,

“I should be asking you that; what’s going on, kid? You know you can tell me anything,” perhaps it was Rhodey’s ability as an uncle (or Peter just needed to talk), but it wasn’t long before Peter started talking,

“It’s all my fault; I’ve been a really bad son and I wished they were dead when all they were doing was trying to help me and then they had to go and we were arguing this morning and I said I wanted them to drop dead and then… and then they… they…” what started out as verbal vomiting quickly turned into stutters and sobs as Rhodes wrapped his arms around his nephew,

“Ssh, kid, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.”  


“How can you say that?” He sobbed, “they’re in the hospital and… and it’s because of me; I told them to drop dead and then the plane… the plane crashed and… and they’re in the hospital. It’s all my fault.” His words were slurred as choked sobs crawled up his throats,   


“Peter, you can’t seriously think that. What happened was an accident; there’s nothing you could do to stop it. Even if you guys hadn’t had an argument this morning, the crash would’ve still happened.”  


“But-“  


“Pete,” Rhodey said, his tone was serious and that seemed to be enough to shut the teenager up as he merely pushed his face into the soldier’s chest and cried some more as Rhodey murmured calming shushes and rubbed a hand up and down his back. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

It felt like hours, Steve thought, until Tony was brought back into the room. His husband was still unconscious and remained hooked up to numerous machines; the sight of him made Steve feel ill. Tony looked too small. 

“Push our beds closer,” he demanded when they stopped him from getting off the bed; they complied and Steve reached across the small gap between him and Tony to hold his husband’s wireless and needless hand in his own. With a hiss, he reached over and ran a gentle hand down Tony’s cheek before grasping his hand again. “Did you hear from Rhodes?”

“Yeah, he said Peter’s exhausted himself and that they’re going to stay home for a bit but he’ll see if he can get Peter to come over later,” Clint explained with a sad smile,

“Does anyone know what’s going on with him? Peter, I mean,” Steve asked hopefully but his friends shook their heads,

“Sorry punk, he hasn’t told us anything.”

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, “has Fury been informed?”  


“Yes, I called him before we got here,” Natasha stated with a nod; with a sigh, Steve leaned back and listened to the chatter around him, it didn’t take long before he was nodding off with his hand gently holding Tony’s.

**——LINE BREAK——**

Peter never returned that evening at the hospital to see his papa; it was a Sunday, so Steve let himself believe that Peter was busy making sure everything was ready for school the next day.

Except come Monday, Peter still made no appearance. Bucky, who had come to see him claimed that Peter had a Decathlon meeting and was unfortunately not going to make it to the hospital before visiting hours were over.

Tuesday held the excuse of homework.

Wednesday came with a blunt text that read ‘ _sorry but I have marching band practise!’._ Steve knew it was a lie; Peter hadn’t been to marching band for months and last Tony checked, their son had quit.

Thursday’s excuse was robotics lab’s club; again, Steve knew it was a lie, the teenager had also quit the club within the last month or so. 

By Friday, Doctor Sullivan said he could leave the hospital.

“Captain Rogers, I’m discharging you as your recovery is simply due to time. There’s nothing else I can do for you. With your rate of recovery in mind, your broken leg and arm should take about three weeks to heal, so I’ll have an appointment scheduled for the removal of your casts. In the meantime, I want you to take it easy; no missions, no saving the world, just resting.”  


“Thank you, Doctor Sullivan.” Steve murmured gratefully but once he was dressed and ready to leave, he simply sat down in the chair next to Tony’s bed, his leg was alleviated on another chair as he sat there watching his husband’s chest move up and down ever so slightly.

**——LINE BREAK——**

It was difficult to get Steve to leave that day, but the man knew that he needed to find his wayward son and talk with the teenager. Happy picked him up from the hospital once visiting hours were over, Bucky was with him, helping Steve hobble about with his one crutch. 

Once home, Steve went straight to Peter’s room, he’d been informed by Bucky that Peter wasn’t home again; reluctantly, the metal-armed man explained that they hadn’t seen much of the teenager since Sunday. He seemed to have mastered sneaking in and out; Peter also didn’t come home after school like he was supposed to either.

“I’m sorry, Stevie, we tried, y’know, but the little bugger just ignored us. Hasn’t even let Happy pick him up after school.”  


“It’s okay, Buck, I appreciate you trying,” Steve said as he sat down on his son’s bed, Bucky loitered looking at his friend worriedly before hesitantly leaving. 

He waited for a while, pushing himself against his son’s headboard so that he could alleviate his broken leg. It was when he was shuffling to try and get comfortable that Peter crawled into his room.

Literally, he swung in from the window and crawled along the ceiling before dropping down onto the ground.

“I should’ve known,” Steve stated from the bed startling Peter, who turned around, his mask in his hands, “it makes sense now.”

“Papa!” He exclaimed loudly with wide horrified eyes as he clutched the mask tightly in his hands,  


“Spider-Man.”


	4. Chapter 4

“I can explain,”  


“Explain what, Peter? That you’ve been sneaking out and playing a superhero! Do you have any idea how terrifying that is to realise? My son has been out there getting injured and possibly being killed whilst I’ve been none the wiser!”  


“Come on, papa, that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Peter tried to laugh,

“Peter… I can’t even believe you, right now. You’ve always been such a good kid and then clearly you somehow became a superhero and everything about you has changed,” Steve exclaimed, “you’re sneaking out, breaking curfew and ignoring the fact that you’re grounded. You’ve been lying and all your dad and I want to do is help you, but you just lash out.” 

“Papa-“  


“No, Peter,” the blond cut him off with a wave of his hand and looked down at his lap, running his hand over his eyes, “Pete, I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed.” He couldn’t help but say and he had to look away at Peter’s horrified expression,

“You -you don’t mean that! I haven’t done anything wrong; I’ve been helping people. Like you and dad! I help people!” He exclaimed frantically, “why aren’t you proud of that? I’ve done some good!”

“Yes that’s great news Peter, it would’ve perhaps been better had you _told us_!” 

“I knew you’d make me stop!”  


“Of course we’d make you stop! What kind of irresponsible parents would let their child go out and play a hero when they could get injured!”  


“Stop saying ‘playing’, this is real! I’m not a little kid.” Peter shouted, his voice was wobbly as tears fell down his cheeks, “I would’ve told you eventually; once I’d built a name for myself, that way you wouldn’t be able to stop me!”

“Enough!” Bucky shouted, JARVIS had informed him of what was going on and he’d rushed down, listening to the two argue; he watched as his friend and nephew jumped having not heard him come in, “what the fuck are you two arguing about at a time like this?” 

“Buck-“  


“No, Stevie. You both need to quit it; Peter, your actions and attitude at the minute is shit, that I won’t deny. But there is a place and a time; you may have gotten the place right, but this ain’t the time. Tony is in a fucking coma and his two most important people are arguing and shouting at each other. That ain’t right.”  


“What?” Peter’s voice was small, “dad… he’s in a coma?” Steve sighed,

“Yeah, Petey, he’s fallen into a coma,” the silent ‘ _something you’d know had you visited’_ was heard loud and clear if Bucky’s glare at Steve and Peter’s downward gaze were any indicators. 

Silence blanketed the room at the confirmation until a choked sob crawled out of Peter’s mouth and he hunched in on himself, trying to hide his tears. Steve sighed again and shuffled to his feet; he wrapped his arms around Peter, murmuring shushes and whispering comforting things and apologies. 

“Can we go see dad tomorrow?”  


“Of course,” Steve whispered into his son’s hair, “of course.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

It was a Saturday, which meant Peter wouldn’t skip school as Steve dragged him along to the hospital. Before they entered Tony’s room, the blond placed his right hand on Peter’s shoulders and turned his son to face him.

“Pete… brace yourself, it’s not a pretty sight,” the teenager nodded miserably and it was the first time that Steve had _really_ looked at his son since the accident (although, the previous day was the first time they’d actually seen each other since them). The bags beneath his eyes reminded Steve of a racoon and Peter’s skin was two shades paler than his normally fair complexion; the realisation hit the soldier suddenly and harshly. Peter hadn’t been malicious in his avoidance, he had avoided visiting because he couldn’t face what had happened to his parents; Peter had been distracting himself from the harsh reality of his parents being injured. With that in mind, Steve pulled Peter to his chest and hugged him tightly.

“Papa?”  


“It’s going to be okay, kid,” he murmured into Peter’s fluffy brown hair, “let’s go see your dad.”

They entered the room quietly and Steve had to hold Peter as he stumbled at the sight of Tony.

“He… he didn’t have the tube in last time,”

“They had to put it in on Thursday; he couldn’t breathe on his own.”

That was all they said as they sat down around the bed, careful of the numerous machines and wires, Peter grabbed his dad’s hand and held it gently; wary of the cast that was on his wrist.

**——LINE BREAK——**

As the days passed with no indication of Tony waking, the bags beneath Peter and Steve’s eyes darkened and the worry lines on their faces deepened. People noticed that Spider-Man had vanished, but there was no backlash, just wondering comments about him. The teenager had decided (been forced to) forgo his Spider-Manning ways until Tony was recovered and they had a family meeting about it. Reluctantly, Peter accepted, but it wasn’t much of a fight; Steve reckoned that since seeing how bad his dad was, all the energy to distract himself vanished. That being said, it was painfully difficult to get Peter to go to school as he often wanted to stay by Tony’s side like Steve was. 

The others visited when they could, but since Steve mentioned HYDRA, they had been busy searching for anything that reeked of the group; Fury had been informed and more or less kicked the team into searching. That being said, the team weren’t exactly upset about having their time consumed as it meant less time worrying about their teammates. 

It was day thirteen of Tony being in a coma; the Avengers had returned from their HYDRA hunt as a new threat hit New York. Steve had to go and be on the comms, he was unable to get in on the physical action, so he was sitting on the sidelines giving suggestions where possible. Peter was, thankfully, safe at school. But, it meant that Tony was alone and of course, that was when he came out of the coma. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

Doctor Sullivan was doing her rounds. As she checked on Tony, she heard a choking sound and found that the man was trying to breathe around the tube. She called for assistance and promptly removed it; Tony woke up briefly, his eyes glazed and hazy before they fluttered shut. Everything seemed alright with him and he had simply fallen asleep; she was torn between calling Steve, but she knew that as an Avenger, she shouldn’t distract him with anything else. 

He woke again and Doctor Sullivan rushed in.

“Mr Stark,”  


“Where… where am I? Where’s… where’s Steve?” He was distressed and she should’ve realised that would happen with him, agitation and disorientation were common when patients woke from comas and given how Tony got into one, she should have expected this, “stop! I won’t -where’s my son? Where’s Peter and Steve? I won’t let you -get away HYDRA! Stay back! Stop! I… I don’t… where’s… stay away!” He was shouting and she quickly sedated him to stop Tony from ripping his stitches and hurting himself.

“Everything’s alright, Mr Stark. I promise. Your son and husband are safe and so are you,” she murmured as his eyes slowly closed.

**——LINE BREAK——**

Once school was finished, Peter rushed to the hospital, he knew his papa wouldn’t be there but that was alright; Peter had read somewhere that coma patients might be able to hear you if you talk to them and with his papa around, Peter hadn’t been able to talk to his dad about certain things. 

Settling down, Peter looked at his unconscious dad, not evening noticing that the breathing tube had been removed as he began to speak.

“Hey, dad… I miss you,” he murmured, “I mean you’re not dead or anything but like… you… dad, you need to wake up. I… I have so many things I need to say; so… so many apologies to make. You were only trying to protect me and look after me and I… I was horrible. I was so mean. And I don’t hate… I don’t hate you. I never should’ve said that. It… it was a… a horrible thing to say. ‘Cause I love you. You’re my dad,” the tears started to fall heavily as Peter spoke, his voice cracking every so often, “you’re my dad and I love you and… and the last thing I said to you… to both of you was… was the worst thing _imaginable_ ,” his voice hitched as he spoke, “I don’t hate you; I don’t!” 

“Pe’er,” the mumble was so quiet but he heard it nonetheless and his head shot up,

“Dad?” He exclaimed with a watery grin, 

“Pe’er, where… are we?” Tony mumbled his eyes slanted open, 

“We’re in the hospital, dad, I’ll just go get the doctor,” but as Peter went to move, Tony’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, “dad?”  


“N-no… HY… HYDRA… they… here…”  


“Dad? You’re not making any sense,”  


“Protec’ you… got… gotta keep… keep you safe…” 

“I am safe, dad, please let me go get the doctor,"  


“No… no,” Tony murmured shaking his head before shuffling in his bed to try and get up,

“No! Dad, you need to stay where you are! _Please_ , you’re hurting, I’ll be right back,” as Peter tried to get his dad to let go of his wrist, he spotted the remote control on the bed and reached over for it, he pressed the nurse call button.

**——LINE BREAK——**

“Tony… steady, steady,” a familiar voice murmured, slowly bringing the genius away from the dark clutches of unconsciousness, “sweetheart, it’s me, Steve."  


“Ste’e,"  


“Hey, hey, careful,” Steve whispered gently as he helped Tony bring the hospital bed up so that Tony was more in a seated position than lying down.

“You… you’re… safe?” Tony mumbled looking at his blond husband,   


“Yes. I’m safe, you’re safe, Peter’s safe. We’re all safe, sweetheart."  


“HYDRA?”  


“They’re not here.”  


“But… but they… I don’t…”  


“Ssh, it’s okay, Tony. Let me clear up what happened,” Steve murmured pressing a kiss to his husband’s forehead before he gently explained the plane crash and HYDRA’s hand in  it, “… I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you first woke up, but Peter was here the second time you woke up,” he finished with.  


“Pete… he hates us,”  


“No, sweetheart, he doesn’t. He loves us; he loves you. Things just got a little bit messy; when you’re feeling better, he’ll explain it all to you, okay?”  


“‘kay. Don’t leave.”  


“I won’t. Don’t worry, I won’t.” Steve murmured once again pressing a kiss against his forehead, “you’ve been in a coma for fourteen days, Tony, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter; I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all your lovely comments (in general and with this story) and I hope you've enjoyed this!

It didn’t take long before Tony was hassling the doctors to let him leave; he wanted to be back home as soon as possible but Steve had refused to let him sign out AMA, which unsurprisingly resulted in a moody Tony. Although, Doctor Sullivan had graciously informed them that coma patients were prone to being more agitated; hence why Tony’s sulking seemed to be worse than his normal hospital sulking.

Reluctantly, Doctor Sullivan deemed him fit enough to leave the hospital; she sent him out in a wheelchair with appointments to return to remove the cast on his right leg and left wrist in four weeks time along with the promise to take it easy. He agreed in his haste to leave the place he called Hell. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

Settled on the couch with Steve next to him, both of them had their legs propped up as Peter sat nervously on the couch in front of them. His hands twisting in his lap as he stared at them.

“It’s okay, Petey,” Tony murmured with a smile, “you can tell us,”  


“Papa knows…” Peter whispered, “and you’ll be so mad,” Tony sighed,   


“I can’t promise that I won’t, but Petey, you need to tell me.”  


“Before… before that… I need to… do you remember when you first woke up and I was in the hospital with you? I… I was talking to you and then you woke up and…” he trailed off looking at his dad, who had a look of concentration on his face as Tony tried to remember.

“I’m sorry, Petey… I can’t… no, I can’t remember. I’m sorry,” Tony murmured,

“’s okay, dad, the doctor said that your memory might be a bit off,” Peter said with a shy smile, “I… I was apologising to you. I… I said some horrible things, dad, before you both left and… and I didn’t mean it. I don’t hate you. I… I am so sorry for saying that. I don’t hate you. I love you. Both of you and I am so sorry. I didn’t mean it; not at all. 

“I… I’m not trying to justify my wrongs… that’s wrong, I know it is, you’ve brought me up to not justify wrongdoings, but I’ve… I’ve just been so stressed and busy and -and things just haven’t been alright and I’m sorry. Then you -you said I was grounded and things just kind of exploded because -because I need to go out and if I’m grounded then I can’t do… I can’t…”  


“Pete, what can’t you do? What’s caused you to be so stressed and busy? You’ve stopped going to marching band and robotics lab, you love those and your teacher called me expressing his concern because you’ve been going to Decathlon less and less. They’ll kick you out, kid.” Peter looked over at Steve with pitiful eyes and his papa just nodded gently, urging him to speak.

“I‘m…” he mumbled unintelligibly,

“You’re?” Peter drew in a deep breath and looked at his dad, who was staring at him worriedly,

“I’m Spider-Man.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

Silence enveloped the room at Peter’s declaration. Tony stared at his son, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as he tried to find something to say. He grabbed the tablet in front of him, hissing as he pulled at his slowly healing dislocated shoulder.

“Dad?”  


“This -this is _you?_ ” Tony exclaimed as he held the tablet up showing a video of Spider-Man stopping a car from smashing into a tram by placing himself between the two vehicles.

“Umm…”  


“You’re - _you’re_ the Spiderling? The one in this -this _onesie?”_

“Spider-Man,” Peter mumbled,   


“Dear God,” Tony exclaimed again with a heavy sigh, “this,” he turned to Steve, “you?”  


“He told me a week or so ago,” the blond murmured and Tony ran a hand down his face, 

“Peter, I need a minute alone; please just go wait in your room or something.”  


“I-“  


“Pete, please,” Tony murmured and begrudgingly, the teenager did as he was told.

**——LINE BREAK——**

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Steve asked when Tony buried his face in his hands, wincing as he pulled at his injuries, 

“This is so fucked up.”  


“Tony, you know he’s a good kid,”  


“That’s not the problem, Steve,” Tony looked up and the blond saw tears in his eyes, “I know he’s a good kid, we _raised_ him to be a good kid but we’ve also been superheroes as he’s grown up. Why - _why_ wouldn’t he have felt encouraged to be one too? Steve, I don’t want this life for him. He’s already coming home with cuts and bruises, what’s to stop it from getting worse? If he’s out there swooping in front of vehicles to stop collisions, what’s to stop him from being seriously injured?”  


“There’s nothing we can do, Tony, you know he won’t stop.”  


“How are you so calm?”  


“I’ve had a week to think it over; the only things we can do for him, sweetheart, is to be there for him."  


“And I can build him a better suit,"  


“Yes, you can,”  


“I shouldn’t because it’ll only encourage him to continue,”  


“He’ll continue anyway.”  


“He’s clearly gotten his stubbornness from you,” 

“I think you’re forgetting that you’re as stubborn as I am too,” Steve retorted with a chuckle that Tony reciprocated,

“Nothing we say will stop him, but there will be rules,”  


“Of course, Tony, sweetheart, I think you’re confusing my composure for lack of concern. I’m terrified about Peter being out there, but you and I both know that it’s safer for him  to have us in the know and supporting him than it is for him to keep sneaking out.”  


“I know, I know. It’s just… Steve, I didn’t want this for him. Whenever he goes out, I doubt I’ll be able to sit still and relax knowing my baby is out there risking his life-“  


“One of the rules for him will be on what he can help. There will be no more life-risking,” Steve interrupted gently as he placed his hand on Tony’s knee, 

“I just feel like a shit dad,”  


“Sweetheart, you’re not. You’re a great dad, the best there is,” he murmured shuffling over and placing a kiss on Tony’s temple.

**——LINE BREAK——**

When Peter was back inside and settled on the couch looking bashful as he stared at his hands, which caused Tony to narrow his eyes suspiciously.

“Did you hear us?”  


“I… may have super hearing…”  


“Peter-“  


“Hey! I can’t help it!”  


“Tony,” Steve cut in before things could escalate and the genus just sighed, 

“Right. We have some ground rules to go over, kid.” Peter was about to start whining when he paused and stared at his dad,

“Wait, does this mean I can continue to be Spider-Man?”

“Your dad and I realise that even if we said no, you’d ignore us. This way we can at least keep an eye on you and know what you’re doing,” Steve answered before letting Tony take over,

“Rules, kid. Rules.” Tony stated regaining Peter’s attention, “first things first, you’re not going out Spider-Manning until I’ve built you a suit -how you’ve lasted in that onesie, I have no clue.”  


“But you’re not allowed in your workshop for weeks!” Peter complained, 

“Exactly. If I have to suffer, so do you. _Secondly,_ you are not to help with anything bigger than stopping… I don’t know theft. You are _not_ an Avenger. Got it?” Reluctantly, Peter nodded, “thirdly, you keep in contact with one of us. Either your papa and I or one of the others. Rule four is curfew. You’re sticking to it, Peter. You are not sneaking out. School days you’re back and in bed by eleven; weekends you can stay out till…”  


“Half twelve?” Steve murmured trying to help Tony out, who reluctantly nodded,

“Half twelve. That’s fairly lenient, don’t you think, Peter?”  


“Yeah…”  


“Anything else, Steve?”  


“Not that I can think of.”  


“Repeat the rules to me, Pete,” the genius murmured ignoring his son’s eye roll,

“Rule one, not allowed to be Spider-Man until you make me a suit. Rule two, can’t do anything bigger than theft -wait what kind of theft? Bank robberies are included right-"  


“No!” Both Steve and Tony exclaimed in unison with wide eyes, they knew how messy bank robberies could get; Peter huffed a bit clearly annoyed.

“Rule three, keep in contact. Rule four, stick to curfew. That all?” He muttered in a sulk,

“I believe so.” Tony answered after receiving a nod from Steve, “go on, get out of here, kid.”  


“I… you know that I am sorry, right? About everything?” Peter murmured shyly as he stood up,

“Come here, Petey,” his dad said patting the spot on the couch between him and Steve. Once the teenager sat down, both of his dad’s wrapped their arms around him careful of their injuries and casts; Peter didn’t realise he had started crying again as he buried his face in Tony’s neck until he heard Tony humming AC/DC to him. Whenever Peter was upset, even as a baby, Tony had always hummed AC/DC to him. 

“‘m sorry,”  


“It’s okay, kid. Ssh, it’s okay. You’re okay, we’re okay.” Tony whispered, “I promise.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

Soon enough, it was just the adults lazing around the communal living room; Peter had gone away to do some homework, although Tony suspected he’d worn himself out from the emotional rollercoaster he’d been through and had decided to turn in early for the night. 

It wasn’t long before Tony was letting out a long yawn and stumbling awkwardly to his feet; he couldn’t really use a crutch because of his broken left wrist and right dislocated shoulder, so he was stuck with either getting help, which he never liked to accept, or shuffling gracelessly away.

“Well this last month’s been one hell of a rollercoaster, I’m going to bed. Steve, once you get better, I hope you know you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“What did I do?”  


“You acted casual whilst I was freaking out…”  


“Surely that’s not couch-worthy?”  


“Fine, you doubled my son’s chances of stubbornness; that’s a couch-worthy crime,” Tony answered with a glare and Steve realised with a sigh that there was nothing he could do to change Tony’s mind. Stumbling to his feet as well, Steve headed on out after his slow shuffling husband with a crutch to help him. 

“Night guys,” he called over his shoulder.

  
“They have the right idea, to be honest,” Clint groaned as he stretched his arms above his head, “I’m knackered, it’s been a mental month and things are hopefully getting back in order now, so I’m gonna head off too.”  


“Same,” Bucky muttered as he stood up, clicking his back. It didn’t take long before Natasha, Bruce and Thor were agreeing with the sentiments. One by one, they headed to the elevator to head to their floors and get some rest.

**——LINE BREAK——**

“You alright?” Steve asked as he got under the duvet, he could hear Tony hissing under his breath,

“Stupid chest,” alarmed, the blond sat up and looked over at Tony, who was gently rubbing at the area around his arc reactor,

“What is it? Do I need to call Doctor Sullivan?”  


“No, no,” Tony stated batting his husband’s hands away, “just a bit sore from everything. Don’t think this whole Spider-Man thing is helping my heart though,”  


“I know. I hate it just as much as you do, but I did have all week to process it and… honestly, New York could always do with a friendly neighbourhood superhero.”  


“But why did it have to be our kid?”  


“Because there’s no one better suited than our kid,” Steve murmured capturing Tony’s lips in a kiss, “now go to sleep, there’s no point stressing about this. We can continue that  tomorrow,” Tony chuckled pressing another kiss to the blond’s lips,

“I was being serious when I said you were sleeping on the couch once you’re healed, don’t think I wasn’t,” Steve’s chuckles filled the darkness of the room,

“I love you,” he whispered,

“I love you too, now shut up and go to sleep, Steve, I’m shattered,” with another laugh, they shared a third kiss before closing their eyes and embracing the warmth of the other as carefully as they could as they were mindful of each other’s injuries. 

**Author's Note:**

> An update a day to keep the readers at bay! Sorry I just thought of that and I love it! But as per usual, I'll upload daily.
> 
> [My tumblr](https://anxious---soul.tumblr.com) feel free to say hi or something!
> 
> Anyway,  
> Thank you for reading,  
> Hope you enjoyed this,  
> Please leave a kudos and a comment  
> 


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